


Divide and Conquer

by MerakiMela



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Evil Scientists - Freeform, Kidnapping, M/M, Memory Loss, danny is split, evil organisation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:02:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27465379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MerakiMela/pseuds/MerakiMela
Summary: When Danny has his memories taken away and is split from his ghost half, he must work with the other worldly stranger that he feels drawn to if either of them want to have a chance of escaping the people who captured them.
Relationships: Danny Fenton/Danny Phantom
Comments: 5
Kudos: 26





	1. The Instinct to Escape

Pain…

Pain was all he could sense at first. A throbbing pain in his head, a dull ache in his body, and a sharp pinch around his eyes…

Eyes that he realised were stuck open as his vision slowly blurred back into existence as he regained consciousness. In front of him was a strange metal surface covered with blinking screens that curved around above and on either side of his peripheral vision. He attempted to look around, but found that his head had been strapped down on the headrest of whatever he was seated in. Testing his hands, they were similarly restricted. Then his sense of sound crept back, unrecognisably muffled noises becoming an irritating beeping combined with a mechanical voice that was repeating the same line over and over.

_“Electrical error. Please restart device.”_

It didn’t take much for him to figure out that the voice was referring to whatever machine he was bound to, or that whatever it was meant to do, he did not want to let it happen. He strained his neck muscles to tilt his head down as much as he could against whatever was binding it back. Finally being able to see his hands, he saw that all that was binding his hands were basic ropes tied around his wrists against arm rests that simply jutted out.

_If I could just slide my arms down far enough, I’d be able to slip the rope off of the arm rests…_

With that thought, he pushed his back against his seat and began inching his arms forward. Not getting anywhere, he tried pulling one arm back in order to be able to push the other further forward. Quickly, he was able slip the rope off of the arm rest and once his hand was free, the other quickly followed. He lifted his hands to get a feel of what was strapping his head back. Before he could reach it, his fingers bumped at whatever it was that was holding his eyes open. Carefully, he pulled the thin metal away from his face and blinked furiously as soon as he was capable, eyes feeling stiff and dry from being too exposed to the air for so long. Continuing his search to unbind his head, his fingers reached up and found a clasp on what felt like leather. He got to work undoing the clasp and soon enough he was able to move his head again. Looking around the room, he found himself in a sterile, yet bleak room. One wall was lined with computers, while on the other side of the room stood a large, round, empty tank. Between the wall with the computers and the tank there was a door that while not completely open, also didn’t seem all the way shut. It was a way out. But to where, he didn’t know. He had no idea where he was or why he was there, and once he got thinking about it, he realised that he didn’t even know who he was at all. Despite not knowing any of that, he still knew that whoever he was, he wasn’t meant to be here and a strong gut feeling told him to get out and get away as fast as possible.

As he shifted to stand up, he discovered that his legs were similarly strapped to how his head was. In no time he released the clasps and sprung up out of the chair and onto his feet. With how easily it was to get out of his bindings, he couldn’t help but feel like whoever put him there didn’t have big expectations for his capabilities. Face twisting into a smirk, he decided that he was going to use that to his advantage as much as he could.

As he went to leave, the displays of the computers halted his movement as they caught his eye. On one screen was some sort of status report.

_‘Incubation Stage: Complete.’_

_‘Reprogramming: Paused’_

He frowned at the information. If he was being reprogrammed, that would explain why he couldn’t remember who he was. Curious, he went up to the computers and searching the screens for anything that could tell him who he was. Quickly, he found a screen that was filled with stats for someone called “Danny Fenton”. He read the visual description, before shuffling over to the closest reflective surface. Sure enough, there was the black hair, pale skin and blue eyes that had been described on the page.

_I have a name. I’m Danny Fenton._

The discovery gave him hope. With a name, he could look himself up once he got out of this place and find his way back home. Wherever that was. One last look at the screens, he glanced at the one that had a flashing prompt to restart the reprogramming sequence. Hitting the enter key, he sighed when the alarm deactivated and the mechanical voice stopped. Now there was a chance that whoever was holding him captive might think he’s exactly where they want him, which should make it easier for him to sneak out.

Out in the hallway, he glanced to his left and right cautiously, not sure which direction to go in. Something in his gut told him to go left, basically pulling him in that direction. With nothing else to go on, he followed his instinct and went left.

Creeping down the hallways, making turns when his gut feeling told him to, he came across a corridor that was a dead end. As he went to turn around, he heard voices coming from the way he came. Panicked, he tried the closest door to him. To his relief, the door opened and he dove into the room, quickly but quietly shut the door closed behind him.

Before he could fully relax, a thumping noise drew his attention further into the room, causing him to gasp. This room was nearly exactly the same as the one he woke up in. The only difference was that the tank was filled with a strange green fluid and was currently occupied by a white-haired boy who was currently attempting to shoulder barge his way through the glass. A strange feeling he couldn't identify tugged in his chest as he looked at the boy.

_Who is that?_


	2. The Instinct to Protect

_Pain…_

Pain was all he could sense at first. A throbbing pain in his head, a dull ache in his body, and a sharp pinch around his wrists…

Wrists he realised were bound together by something cold and metallic and wouldn’t break away from each other no matter how hard he tried. Opening his eyes, all he could see was green. He looked down at his arms to see what was binding him. He wasn’t surprised to see that the contraption was indeed metal, but what did surprise him was that they didn’t appear to be simple cuffs. On both sides there appeared to be little power displays to show that they were working. What they were working on, he couldn’t figure out. All he did know was that he did not like being caged like this, and that he needed to get away from this place and whoever put him here as soon as possible.

As his eyes adjusted, he was able to see through the liquid he was floating in and into the room beyond. To his right was a weird machine that looked like a clunky version of one of those VR pods you see set up at malls. In front of him was a series of computer screens, but from his current position he couldn’t tell what any of them said. To his left was a door. Chest filling with hope seeing his way out of the room, he excitedly looked around himself to see if there was some sort of hatch to get out of whatever he was in. Frustratingly enough, there was nothing that indicated a way in or out. The round glass wall simply ran all the way up to the ceiling and all the way down to the floor.

_How the hell did I get in here, then?_

Seeing no other way out, he coiled himself up before launching himself shoulder first at the glass. As the glass slightly shook from the impact, pain shot down his shoulder, doubling the ache his body was already experiencing. He wasn’t sure how many more attempts he had in himself, so he took a moment to rest and try to build up as much strength as he could, hoping to be able to strike the glass harder than the first time. It had shaken slightly, so there was every chance that if he were able to just hit hard enough, it would shatter.

Despite his increased effort and the pain in his shoulder that was caused by it, the glass did not shake any harder than the first time. Frustration building, he rammed the glass again and again in quick succession, soon followed by an agitated kick. No matter what he did, the glass responded in the same way each time, which gave him the disheartening realisation that it would probably never break. Tired from his efforts and feeling defeated, he slumped against the glass and let himself sink to the bottom of the tank.

That’s when he saw something in the corner of his eye. He pushed himself away from the glass as his head snapped towards the direction of the door. Standing between him and his torturously close path to freedom was a boy with raven-black hair and startling blue eyes that was staring at him with an expression of wonder.

* * *

Danny Fenton stood silently as he watched the ethereal boy desperately throw himself against the glass repeatedly. It felt horribly wrong to see the creature trapped like this and so helpless in their attempts for freedom. Sure enough, the boy seemed to eventually give up and fall down to the bottom of the tank with the most heart-breaking expression Danny had ever seen. He imagined that this was what it would feel like to watch a mermaid in captivity.

While a tiny part of his brain suggested that he should leave whoever this was and continue his search for his own freedom, it was severely drowned out by the much larger part of himself that knew he had to help this boy. Taking a step forward, the boy in the tank suddenly noticed his presence and very quickly backed away as it glared at him with fear. Danny lifted his hands defensively so that his palms faced the boy, hoping to show him that he was unarmed and came in peace.

“Don’t worry, I’m not here to hurt you.” He tried to reassure, hoping the tank wasn’t sound proof. Seeing the boy's posture relax and his expression turn hopeful yet cautious, Danny took that as a sign that the boy could hear him and understand at least his tone.

“Let’s see if I can figure out how to get you out of there.” Danny said, before turning to face the series of computers against the wall. As he turned, he noticed that the reprogramming pod had several upgrades that his own did not have. Where his had ropes and leather straps, this one had what looked like steel shackles. Whoever and whatever this boy was, it was clear that the people who had taken the two of them captive were a lot more concerned about what he was capable of than they were of Danny.

_They’re about to learn how much of a mistake that was._

Refocusing on the computers, he looked up and down them for any information he could get. One screen had a similar “about” page to his own, listing the boy in the tank as a ghost named Phantom, who appeared to have quite an impressive list of powers.

“No wonder they were way more worried about you busting out of here than me. Looking at this, you’re the last person I’d want to mess with, Phantom.” Danny thought out loud. Next, a screen was showing the ghost’s current vitals which Danny couldn’t help but chuckle at. Finding out ghosts had vitals to begin with was a wild enough discovery of its own. Finally, he found a panel with a hand print on it, the screen above showing that it opened and shut the tank.

* * *

_Phantom…_

That’s what the boy called him. Was that his name, or just what he was? Maybe both? It was better than nothing, he supposed.

“I think we’re going to have to get a guard in here and trick them into opening the tank, but I’m not sure how…” The boy thought out loud, tapping two fingers to his chin as he looked around at the screens for clues. Joining the process, Phantom turned his attention to the screen that seemed to be showing his vitals. Something on him had to be capturing those vitals. Looking down at himself, he noticed a device strapped around his chest that beeped and flashed in time with the pulsing sensation he could feel inside his ribcage. Looking back at the screen confirmed that it was recording whatever the device was capturing.

“Hey, would this work?” Phantom asked, prompting the boy to pivot around to face him. He gestured to the device as best he could while handcuffed, recognising the dawning realisation on the boy’s face as he understood what Phantom meant.

“Yes! If you could break it somehow and play dead, they’d have to come in and open the tank to try to fix whatever went wrong! Brilliant!” The boy beamed up at him, making Phantom hope that the green liquid surrounding him concealed the sudden blush he felt rush to his cheeks. Luckily, it seemed the boy didn’t notice, as he quickly whipped back around towards the computers again and immediately began looking for something. Quickly, he went for a cupboard underneath one of the computers and pulled out a fire extinguisher.

“Once they open it, I’ll sneak up and knock them out. Then we can both get out of here.” The boy explained with a determined look in his eyes. Phantom felt, and heard from the device, the whirring sensation in his chest speed up as he locked eyes with the boy in front of him. If this boy is trying to escape too, why did he stop to help him? Why not just leave? Phantom felt sick at the idea of this boy losing his chance to get out because of him. Watching the boy dash around the weird pod, he decided that he was going to do whatever it took to protect him.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm curious to know how someone would feel if they were split in half and met the other half without knowing who they were. Would you be drawn to them without knowing that it was because you wanted to be complete? Would you automatically trust them? Or would you push everything you hate about yourself onto them without understanding why?
> 
> I'd love to know what you think in the comments!


End file.
